The former ambassador to the United States from Saudi Arabia, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, has written a piece that is critical of American talk about energy independence. Of course, it is in his interest to talk us out of our search for alternative sources of energy. The less we rely on oil, and therefore Saudi Arabia, the harder it will be for the Saudi royal family to retain their authoritarian and oppressive reign.
Al-Faisal does a good job of describing all the ways Saudi helps stabilize oil prices, and I do not doubt what he says. However, he clearly ignores the other aspects of the Saudi government. He does not defend the way they have spread a violent and hateful form of Islam, one that is intolerant of Shias and western ideology. And he does not defend a government with serious human rights violations and no democracy whatsoever.
The prince says that energy independence is mirage. He clearly means complete independence, and in that he is right. However, the less oil we need, the less dependent we are. We will not completely rid ourselves of oil anytime soon. But we can find ways to insulate ourselves from oil's volatility and from the often corrupt, inhumane, and dangerous governments that export it.
We have a choice coming up. We can do as the Prince says, and remain interdependent with Saudi Arabia and all the baggage that comes with that. Or we can pursue alternatives, giving us the ability to tell Saudi Arabia the truth, and to maybe one day put pressure on the government to provide real change, even if that means having a free government that does not like the US.
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